Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Hearing Zheng Xingguo's shouts from inside the forest, Pang Jun and Zhou Fuyun breathed a sigh of relief.

The three of them quickly gathered together.

"Pang Jun, 8th Platoon, 9th Company, 211th Regiment; Zhou Fuyun, 9th Platoon."

"Zheng Xingguo from Class 4".

Sitting behind a small earthen mound, Zheng Xingguo said, "We've gotten separated from the main force, but the three of us can form a combat team."

"I'm the deputy squad leader and the leader of the combat team. Do you two have any objections?"

"No objections." Pang Jun and Zhou Fuyun shook their heads.

Regarding command issues, the military has its own methods, and it is only natural that Zheng Xingguo is now the group leader.

“Since everyone agrees, let’s continue our pursuit,” Zheng Dingguo said.

"We will split into three groups. I will take the main road, and you two will be positioned on the left and right flanks respectively. We will cover each other."

“No problem!” Pang Jun and Zhou Fuyun nodded.

They were few in number and isolated, so they had to support and cover each other.

After confirming the plan, the three men quickly headed south along the highway in pursuit.

They also wanted to catch up with the group of enemies who had fled earlier.

However, the three had only chased for less than a kilometer when they suddenly heard gunshots.

"Bang!" "Bang!"
The moment he heard the gunshot, Zheng Xingguo immediately lay down on the ground and crawled to the back of a bulldozer by the roadside.

After confirming that it was safe, Zheng Xingguo looked in the direction from which the gunshots rang out.

On the ridge to the side, several Indian soldiers were pointing their guns and gesturing in this direction.

Indian bullets kept hitting the bulldozer, splashing dirt everywhere.

Seeing how poor the Indian soldiers' marksmanship was, Zheng Xingguo breathed a sigh of relief. After gesturing to Pang Jun and Zhou Fuyun, Zheng Xingguo extended his gun.

Using bulldozers as cover, Zheng Xingguo continuously fired to attract the Indian troops on the mountain ridge.

At the same time, Pang Jun also occupied a favorable position and began to set up guns for cover.

Zhou Fuyun, who was originally moving along the hillside on the left side of the road, quietly maneuvered behind the Indian troops.

The Indian army did not initially detect Zhou Fuyun's actions; they were still engaged in fierce fighting with Zheng Xingguo and Pang Jun.

Zheng Xingguo and Pang Jun were not in a hurry, only occasionally firing a couple of shots to attract the attention of the Indian troops.
It wasn't until Zhou Fuyun was less than 100 meters away that the Indian troops suddenly realized the danger.

"Damn it! Someone's sneaking up on us!"

"This way! This way!"

An Indian soldier shouted as he adjusted the muzzle of his gun.

But by then it was clearly too late.

Meanwhile, the Indian soldier's shouting also caught Zhou Fuyun's attention.

Zhou Fuyun calmly pulled the trigger, firing a short burst that killed him instantly.

Upon seeing this, the remaining Indian soldiers ran down the hillside without looking back.

Zhou Fuyun quickly climbed the mountain ridge and kept calling out the names of the fleeing Indian soldiers.

A dozen seconds later, all six Indian soldiers, who were of similar build, fell into pools of blood, forming a line from the ridge to the foot of the mountain.

Zheng Xingguo and Pang Jun also came over.

Looking at the corpse on the ground, Zheng Xingguo stroked his chin.

"The enemy isn't running southeast along the highway; instead, they seem to be heading towards the southern mountains. I suspect there's something going on to the south. Shall we go check it out?"

Pang Jun and Zhou Fuyun strongly agreed with Zheng Xingguo's idea.

After quickly cleaning up the battlefield, the three of them turned south along a side road in the mountains.

Within ten minutes, they discovered the situation.

Several hundred meters away, the three saw Indian troops busily working on a flat area.

Zheng Xingguo said, "Four howitzers, this is the position of an artillery company."

"I was wondering why the Indian troops were running this way. Turns out those Indian soldiers were sentries from the artillery company."

On the artillery position, one cannon was mounted on a truck, and the other three were being packed up, seemingly preparing to flee.

Turning around, Zheng Xingguo said, "Kill them?"

“Absolutely,” Pang Jun and Zhou Fuyun affirmed. “This is a big fish.”

Despite the Indian artillery company having seventy or eighty men, the three men showed no fear whatsoever.

"Then let's fight," Zheng Xingguo said.

"However, while we may fight, we cannot act blindly."

"The enemy is a company. We can't win by brute force alone. We have to outsmart them."

"My plan was for Zhou Fuyun to approach covertly from the front, while Pang Jun and I would climb the mountain to outflank the enemy."

"The three of us formed a triangular crossfire, striking from 360 degrees, leaving the enemy nowhere to hide."

“No problem!” Pang Jun and Zhou Fuyun nodded.

After exchanging ideas on the coordination plan, Zhou Fuyun immediately moved forward covertly and took up a position providing cover fire.

Zheng Xingguo and his companion climbed up a small ridge and circled around behind the Indian artillery.

However, to Zheng Xingguo and Pang Jun's surprise, they encountered an unexpected incident while meandering along the small mountain ridge.

As they crossed a hill, Zheng Xingguo and Pang Jun suddenly came face to face with a small group of Indian troops.

Both sides were somewhat stunned on the spot.

Zheng Xingguo and Pang Jun reacted quickly, immediately pointing their guns at each other.

However, the Indian troops reacted even faster, and before the two men could raise their guns, they had already knelt down with their hands raised in an incredibly smooth motion.

Zheng Xingguo and Pang Jun looked at each other in bewilderment.

These Indian soldiers have given them a tough time.

If they were shot and killed, it would inevitably attract the attention of the Indian artillery, which would greatly affect their flanking maneuver.

However, if they are not killed, someone will have to stay behind to guard them, which will also have a great impact on the artillery positions attacking the enemy.

After thinking for a moment, Zheng Xingguo finally decided to take a risky step.

Zheng Xingguo explained in broken English: "If you don't move, you won't die; if you move, you will die."

"Understand? Move, or die!"

Several Indian soldiers nodded repeatedly.

They might not understand anything else, but no matter how strangely the tone of the word "death" was pronounced, they could hear it perfectly clearly.

Zheng Xingguo breathed a sigh of relief. "Take the bolts off their guns and bring them with you."

Now he can only do his best to ensure that these Indian soldiers don't shoot them from behind; as for the rest, he's leaving it to fate.

However, to Zheng Xingguo's surprise, these Indian soldiers were incredibly cooperative. Although they did not actively cooperate, they also showed absolutely no intention of resisting.

The Indian prisoners sat on the ground, watching the two men disappear without moving.

When Zheng Xingguo and Pang Jun circled around to the back of the Indian artillery company and then suddenly charged down the hillside...

Indian soldiers even rubbed their eyes, thinking they were seeing things.

How could Chinese infantry possibly appear from behind them?

In those two seconds when the Indian troops were stunned, Zheng Xingguo and Pang Jun had already slid down the mountain ridge, which was more than ten meters high.

Then the two of them started shooting at each other.

Several Indian soldiers were killed on the spot.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining Indian soldiers abandoned their artillery and tried to escape in their cars.

However, not all Indian soldiers were able to climb onto the truck. Those who were slower could only follow behind the truck, howling and constantly trying to cling to it.

Zheng Xingguo and his two companions didn't waste any words with these men, repeatedly calling out their names with a series of slaps. Their brutality sent chills down the spines of the soldiers who had surrendered on the ridge; they were thankful they had surrendered quickly.

Otherwise, the artillerymen wouldn't have died, but the rest of them definitely would have.

However, Zheng Xingguo and his two men were still somewhat lacking in firepower. In the time it took them to change magazines, the Indian troops who had driven away had already disappeared around the bend in the mountain road.

Looking at the artillery and supplies that the Indian army had carelessly abandoned, Zheng Xingguo scratched his head.

"What should we do with this thing?"

They couldn't even take away the heavy artillery pieces that the Indian army had abandoned, let alone the shells; they were too heavy.

Pang Jun also said with a headache, "We don't know when reinforcements will arrive. We can't just stay here and guard it, can we?"

"We definitely can't stay here," Zhou Fuyun said.

"The Indian army is in chaos right now, which is a good time for us to pursue them. It's not worth wasting time on these few cannons."

Zhou Fuyun suggested, "I think we should just blow this place up."

Zheng Xingguo thought about it and also felt that now was a good time to press the advantage and not let these few cannons hold him back.

However, Zheng Xingguo did not agree to blow up the cannon. "We can just remove the cannon sight and hide it somewhere. Then we don't need to blow up the cannon."

The Indian army's howitzers are long-range artillery pieces. Without a scope, they cannot aim and therefore cannot be used.

The three men removed the gun sight and marked the cannon to indicate that it was their spoils of war.

After hiding the enemy's weapons and ammunition in the rubble, the three continued their pursuit of the enemy.

Before leaving the artillery position, Zheng Xingguo suddenly stopped and looked back.

He seemed to have forgotten something.

Seeing Zheng Xingguo stop, Pang Jun asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's okay, let's go."

Zheng Xingguo waved his hand, and the three of them chased after him southeast.

Several Indian soldiers on the ridge watched the three figures disappear into the distance, and stretched out their hands, as if to call out to them.

But they didn't have time; the three of them disappeared around the bend in the mountain road in the blink of an eye.

The Indian soldiers left behind looked at each other in bewilderment.

"What should I do?" someone asked.

"What else can we do? Just wait. Sooner or later someone will come here, and we'll still be prisoners."

"We can't just wait like this. The wind is a bit strong on the mountain ridge, and it's making my scalp tingle."

“Let’s go down, partly to avoid the cold, and partly to help them see the spoils of war. That would be a good deed.”

"Okay, that's a good idea. Let's go down."

The three men, who had long since forgotten about the prisoners, gave chase.

After returning to the highway, the three quickly saw a dozen Indian soldiers pushing a jeep in the distance, apparently because the vehicle wouldn't start.

Upon seeing the car, the three of them immediately became excited.

"A jeep like that must belong to a high-ranking official!"

Zheng Xingguo waved his hand, "Let's go, let's capture them alive!"

The three men excitedly launched a pincer attack, ready to take down the enemy in one fell swoop.

However, there was little cover on the road, so if they could spot the Indian troops, the Indian troops could also spot them.

When the two sides were more than 200 meters apart, the Indian troops saw three Chinese soldiers charging towards them menacingly.

The Indian soldiers pushing the cart were startled on the spot.

"Damn it! The central army is attacking!"

"Damn it, stop standing there, push! Push it!" the Indian officer on the vehicle shouted anxiously.

The Indian soldiers below exerted all their strength, frantically pushing the jeep forward to accelerate.

Meanwhile, the officers in the vehicle were frantically throwing things out.

He threw all his dry rations, suitcase, binoculars, military maps, and even four radios out of the car.

Just as Zheng Xingguo and his men were preparing to fire, the Indian troops finally managed to push the jeep up.

Apart from the two men killed by Zheng Xingguo and his men, the remaining 10 Indian soldiers huddled together in the jeep.

Watching the car sway and then speed away, Zheng Xingguo and his group were somewhat bewildered.

"Is that a Jeep?"

“That’s right, a Dodge Jeep. Our division commander used to have one.”

"That doesn't make sense. Regardless of whether it's a Dodge Jeep or a Willys Jeep, how did the Indian army manage to send 10 men up there?"

"Damn it, isn't it only trucks that can carry this many people?"

"I don't know. The car was definitely a jeep, there were definitely 10 people, and they must have driven away."

"Damn, Indians are such good pretenders."

The group was somewhat helpless.

I thought I could get a few more kills, but I've only managed to kill two so far.

Fortunately, they were left with some spoils of war.

After hiding the items by the roadside, the three continued their relentless pursuit of the enemy.

Soon, they caught up with them at Xishankou.

At this time, the Xishankou position was in a mess, with thick smoke rising everywhere.

The Indian army had already burned its supplies and fled lightly.

Standing atop the hill, the three of them looked south.

Pointing down the hillside, Zheng Xingguo said, "Look over there."

"The hilltop below the gentle slope that's emitting smoke should be the headquarters of the 5th Indian Brigade, but it looks like no one's there anymore."

"According to the regimental commander's orders, the 9th Company's mission was to reach Xishankou, and we have now completed the mission."

As soon as Zheng Xingguo finished speaking, Zhou Fuyun understood that he hadn't finished his sentence.

"Do you still want to continue fighting?" Zhou Fuyun asked.

"That's indeed the intention," Zheng Xingguo nodded.

"The enemy is currently in retreat. If we stop our operations, we will have done nothing wrong. However, if we continue to pursue them, we are likely to inflict heavy damage on the Indian army."

Pang Jun, standing to the side, affirmed, "Then what's there to say? Let's just do it."

“That’s right, I also think we should continue the attack!” Zhou Fuyun said.
"If we encounter a large number of enemies, we will go into the woods and fight a guerrilla war; if we encounter a few small fry, we will just kill them."

“Alright.” Zheng Xingguo said solemnly, “Let’s go and kill a ton of heads.”

The three men rushed across the West Pass and chased after Shenge.

At the same moment, the planned general offensive officially began.

However, the 419th Regiment and the 21st Division did not encounter any enemies when attacking multiple strongholds.

Only some of the supplies inside the stronghold were still burning.

Seeing this, everyone knew that the Indian army had completely collapsed.

If they continue with the original plan, they might end up not getting a single thing, except for the march.

Therefore, Unit 419 and the various units of the 21st Division quickly adjusted their objectives and began to advance rapidly towards Shenge.

The Indian army retreated very quickly. Zheng Xingguo and his two companions chased them all the way to Shenge, but they did not find a single enemy.

However, just as they were about to continue their pursuit, gunshots suddenly rang out from behind them.

(End of this chapter)